The present invention relates to a process for the production of butanol, and more particularly, to a process for producing butanol utilizing a novel microorganism from cellulose in one step by fermentation.
Acetone-butanol fermentation is known as a process for the production of butanol by fermentation. This fermentation is performed using microorganisms such as Clostridium butyricum and Clostridium acetobutylicum with starch, molasses, etc. as a carbon source.
Japanese Patent Application Kokai Koho No. 136585/1978 discloses a process for the production of butanol from cellulose as the raw material by fermentation in which the cellulose is first decomposed into sugar liquids and the sugar liquids, e.g. glucose, are fermented to yield butanol. There are no reported processes for the production of butanol directly from cellulose by fermentation.
Cellulose is a major agricultural waste and effective utilization thereof is desired. In the course of extensive study to isolate microorganisms having high cellulose assimilation ability, particularly cellulose-decomposing thermophilic anaerobes having an ability to produce solvents and organic acids, it has been found that a newly isolated strain is capable of assimilating cellulose to produce butanol.